A. The February 19, 1996 meeting of the VMICC was called to order at 7:35, Bill
 Tobin presiding.
B. No treasurer's report was presented as the treasurer was absent.
C. There were several announcements of general interest:
 1. There are openings on all VMICC Committees. Contact Pat Britz for
 information.
 2. The Development Rights bill is proceeding through the Legislature.
 3. The County will have an open house to discuss future guard rail plans
 for the island Feb. 29, 5-8 PM, at the Library.
 4. There will be a hearing on SB6368 February 21 at 6 PM in the John L.
 O'brien building in Olympia.
D. The DNR's program of citizen assistance in forest practices monitoring and
 enforcement is proceeding with training, both classroom and field. Outreach
 is planned with loggers and through the Beachcomber to let people know they
 are "not environmental Nazis."
 1. Contact: Andy Schwartz, 622-9909
E. The Safety Committee's motion for a traffic survey in the center of Vashon
 was brought up for debate.
 1. Proponents explained that something needed to be done to improve
 traffic flows and safety at the four-way stop in Vashon. The County
 would be asked to study existing traffic flows and suggest
 improvements.
 2. The Chamber of Commerce and Fire District agree on the need to improve
 traffic flow.
 3. Many comments suggested that a stop light was the inevitable result of
 the County's survey, and suggested further urbanization might also
 result.
 a. When the County studied roadsides, their solution was miles of
 guard rails, a poor fit with rural Vashon. Why would this be
 different?
 b. There was a stop light before that was finally removed after
 citizen complaints.
 4. Would a traffic light really improve safety?
 a. Drivers routinely speed up to catch green and amber lights, which
 would make for more car/pedestrian and car/car accidents away from
 the intersection.
 b. Cars idling at red lights are an environmental nuisance.
 c. Many car/pedestrian conflicts come from right-turning cars. Would
 a stop light prevent this, given the right-on-red law?
 5. Is there anything wrong with the current intersection that couldn't be
 fixed by enforcing existing traffic laws?
 a. Ticket people for rolling through signs, not yielding to
 pedestrians.
 b. Remind people of right-of-way rules at 4-way stops.
 6. The question was called, and the motion failed.
 a. 6 Aye, 61 Nay, 3 Abstain
F. The motion to support the Vashon Horse Association's proposed roadside trail
 program was brought up for debate.
 1. The motion was amended to endorse a feasibility study of all proposed
 routes, rather than endorse one specific route that may not be the most
 suitable for a pilot project.
 2. The proponents explained that increasing traffic and increasing speeds
 pose a threat to traditional equestrian and pedestrian uses of Island
 roads. The proposed trails would give segregated access on routes
 between popular equestrian sites, e.g. stables and the DNR trails.
 3. Phil Miller of King County's non-motorized transportation program gave
 a presentation on a similar project in the Hollywood Hills area, where
 Neighborhood Pathways were built on existing rights-of-way to improve
 the safety of equestrians and pedestrians.
 a. The projects are designed to protect existing traffic, not
 encourage more.
 b. No new land is needed -- the trails are built on existing County
 road rights-of-way.
 1) Some property owners have encroached on these rights-of-way
 and may need to move fences or landscaping.
 c. The trail design is typically five feet wide with a three foot
 trail bed covered with gravel or wood chips.
 d. The design is simple and inexpensive, and relies on volunteers and
 neighborhood cooperation.
 e. Maintenance is done by volunteers, with materials provided by the
 County.
 1) Existing trails are maintained by their users, e.g. Horse
 Association and other users maintain the trails on DNR land.
 4. The question was called, and the amended motion passed.
 a. 56 Aye, 13 Nay, 7 Abstain
G. Craig Beles introduced an Emergency Motion in support of SB 6368, which would
 require the County to give more weight to VMICC positions on community
 comprehensive plans and zoning.
 1. The Bill has passed the Senate and is now before the House.
 2. The question of granting emergency status to the motion was put to a
 vote of Precinct Representatives and passed.
 a. 9 Aye, 0 Nay, 0 Abstain
 3. The question was called and the motion passed.
 a. 62 Aye, 7 Nay, 9 Abstain.
H. Pat Britz presented information on the SW Precinct's agreement to sponsor two
 years of surveys regarding what Islanders want from community policing. 
 Island organizations may sign up to co-sponsor this project. 
 1. Survey questions will be developed by Island organizations, not the
 Precinct.
 2. At least one survey will be mailed to all Island residents.
 3. Contact Pat Britz for more information or to sign on as a cosponsor.
I. A scheduled presentation on the groundwater plan was postponed because the
 County and Community Council officials involved were not present.
J. Colby Atwood presented information on a proposed community telephone
 information service, a condensed version of services like the Seattle Times
 Info-Line.
 1. Community groups could sign on for $30/month and be able to post five
 two-minute messages available to anyone with a touch-tone phone.
 2. The equipment would be located at KIRO, which has emergency backup
 power so that messages would still be available during power failures
 or disasters.
K. The topic of No Shooting Areas was brought up for discussion.
 1. Greg Nickels' office had several complaints in the last hunting season
 about unauthorized hunting and hunting with illegal weapons. One
 possible tool is a County-enforced no shooting area.
 a. Citizens can draw up proposed areas and get petition signatures and
 submit these to the County, which can then impose the No Shooting
 Area.
 2. Numerous commentators pointed out that the actions prompting the
 complaints were already illegal. Specifically, the law already
 prohibits:
 a. Hunting on posted property.
 b. Trespassing on posted property.
 c. Hunting without the property owner's permission.
 d. Hunting with pistols or high-powered rifles on Vashon/Maury
 Islands.
 e. Shooting too near any building that might house people, domestic
 animals, or flammable materials. ("too near" is 500 feet for all
 firearms except shotguns, 250 feet.)
 f. Shooting on or across roads.
 g. Shooting near any trails recognized in the zoning code.
 h. Shooting recklessly near people.
 3. Hunting is the only population control for Island deer, which are
 already overpopulated.
 4. There was general agreement that many of the problems were with
 off-island hunters who had no idea where there were houses and trails,
 and did not know that rifle hunting is illegal here.
 a. The Game Commission reportedly encourages off-island hunters to
 hunt here because of the overpopulation of deer.
 5. Many citizens reported police and game department apathy in the face of
 repeated complaints of poaching and illegal shooting. Would reports of
 heavily-armed trespassers be dismissed so casually outside of hunting
 season?
 6. It was noted that the same County ordinance enabling the creation of No
 Shooting Areas also allows petitions to permit shooting for hunting
 purposes within those areas, subject to the same petition requirements
 as the creation of the Areas, thus setting the stage for endless
 petition and counter-petition battles.
 7. Many speakers on both sides agreed that the problems were caused by an
 irresponsible minority, and that restricting the rights of law-abiding
 hunters would be unfortunate, even if necessary.
 8. A Motion was introduced to oppose any County action that would restrict
 currently-legal hunting, noting that existing laws are adequate to
 protect people, and requesting the County and State to enforce these
 existing laws.
L. Evan Simons of the CoHousing project introduced an emergency motion
 requesting the VMICC to support the issuance of a Conditional Use Permit for
 their construction of individual dwelling units rather than duplexes with
 breezeways.
 1. The County otherwise mandates the additional expense and impermeable
 surface area of breezeways between the houses.
 2. Nothing but the breezeways is affected by the permit.
 3. Emergency consideration was approved by Precinct Representatives.
 a. 6 Aye, 1 Nay, 0 Abstain.
 4. The question was called and the Motion passed.
 a. 40 Aye, 0 Nay, 1 Abstain
M. Keith Putnam introduced three Motions from the Land Use Committee:
 1. To not support vacation of a portion of Division Street unless
 alternative access is provided to affected property owners.
 2. To not object to the vacation of a portion of Priest County Road.
 3. To request the County postpone action on the Mullet Subdivision pending
 clarification of ten acre zoning issues regarding groundwater recharge.